Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Ever been scared by something out there? -conclusion
At that moment, a large (12-15pound) black object rose slowly from the water in front of me, and then after a moment of shock I realized what it was; I was staring at a huge Cormorant! I had no idea they'd come this far south from the place where I'd last heard they were becoming a nuisance, Lake Erie. There is a chance that it could have been a large black Loon, although I didn't see the tell-tale white or grey band around it's neck which most Loons I see have.
It looked at me and quickly took flight (why does everything run from me?) across the river, flapping hard to ascend more than a few inches above the water until it had traveled quite a few yards, when it finally attained full flight. At this point you're probably asking yourself why this would have scared me. Remember: it had been very quiet and I had not heard that bird enter that water. All I knew was that suddenly, less than eight feet away from me, a large black living thing was rising from the water before me.
Yeah, Blair Witch Project scared me, too.
Anyway, after the big bird flew out of sight and I picked up my lower jaw, I got out of the water to wait and see if this bird had any companions following. It didn't, so I got back to fishing, but the bites were done.
No problem. It was time to go to work anyway.
It looked at me and quickly took flight (why does everything run from me?) across the river, flapping hard to ascend more than a few inches above the water until it had traveled quite a few yards, when it finally attained full flight. At this point you're probably asking yourself why this would have scared me. Remember: it had been very quiet and I had not heard that bird enter that water. All I knew was that suddenly, less than eight feet away from me, a large black living thing was rising from the water before me.
Yeah, Blair Witch Project scared me, too.
Anyway, after the big bird flew out of sight and I picked up my lower jaw, I got out of the water to wait and see if this bird had any companions following. It didn't, so I got back to fishing, but the bites were done.
No problem. It was time to go to work anyway.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Ever been scared by something out there?
It was a cold, grey day. I decided to spend some of my afternoon fishing the beautiful Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. I was bundled against the cold, dressed in layers. In fact, many layers. Four sweatshirts and a denim jacket over my neoprene waders. The end result is that I look like "Ralphie's" little brother in "A Christmas Story", my arms stiffly out to my sides. I'm in so much trouble if I ever fall down in winter. (I must invest in some decent winter fishing fashion!)
I parked at the top of a hill overlooking the spot I was planning to fish. A trail leads down the 30 or so yards to the waters' edge and I waddled it with no real agility. (Though I didn't fall!) The area has a clear dirt beach maybe 10 feet from treeline to shore, and leading to the mouth of what I think it a runoff drain, though it's well disguised with overhanging vegetation and boulders around the mouth to the point where it would fool you into thinking it's natural until you look closely under the weeds and see the bricks used to form the opening.
I settled in and started casting a 1/4 oz Roostertail spinner, white body with a silver blade and white tuft on the hook. The Smallmouth were very friendly that day, and within an hour and a half I'd caught about 13. At this point with an icy breeze scraping my cheek I decided to take up position leaned against a large boulder which blocked some of the wind. I was balancing myself carefully between a number of basketball sized boulders, in ankle deep water. About 4-6 feet in front of me the bottom dropped off quickly to 5 feet, then after a foot or two more horizontally, over 9 feet.
The bass were hitting as the spinner skirted the edge of the first, more shallow drop. They were anyway, until suddenly there was nothing. No more bites, no chases, nothing. Ordinarily I discount this to the appearance of a predator near the school I'm fishing. A pike, or musky maybe. Oh, it was a predator all right, but not the fish I'd expected. In fact, it wasn't a fish at all.
As I mindlessly fan cast the area waiting and hoping for the bite to begin again, a small dark circle formed in the water only slightly more than a rod length in front of me, slightly off to the left. This circle got bigger, and bigger, when I suddenly realized that something large was rising up from the bottom of the river!
The next thing that happened is what really freaked me out: a black head, atop a long black neck (like those grainy pictures of the Loch Ness Monster), then broke through the surface and that neck kept getting longer. Finally, a large body broke the surface and I found myself face to face with...
...to be continued.
I parked at the top of a hill overlooking the spot I was planning to fish. A trail leads down the 30 or so yards to the waters' edge and I waddled it with no real agility. (Though I didn't fall!) The area has a clear dirt beach maybe 10 feet from treeline to shore, and leading to the mouth of what I think it a runoff drain, though it's well disguised with overhanging vegetation and boulders around the mouth to the point where it would fool you into thinking it's natural until you look closely under the weeds and see the bricks used to form the opening.
I settled in and started casting a 1/4 oz Roostertail spinner, white body with a silver blade and white tuft on the hook. The Smallmouth were very friendly that day, and within an hour and a half I'd caught about 13. At this point with an icy breeze scraping my cheek I decided to take up position leaned against a large boulder which blocked some of the wind. I was balancing myself carefully between a number of basketball sized boulders, in ankle deep water. About 4-6 feet in front of me the bottom dropped off quickly to 5 feet, then after a foot or two more horizontally, over 9 feet.
The bass were hitting as the spinner skirted the edge of the first, more shallow drop. They were anyway, until suddenly there was nothing. No more bites, no chases, nothing. Ordinarily I discount this to the appearance of a predator near the school I'm fishing. A pike, or musky maybe. Oh, it was a predator all right, but not the fish I'd expected. In fact, it wasn't a fish at all.
As I mindlessly fan cast the area waiting and hoping for the bite to begin again, a small dark circle formed in the water only slightly more than a rod length in front of me, slightly off to the left. This circle got bigger, and bigger, when I suddenly realized that something large was rising up from the bottom of the river!
The next thing that happened is what really freaked me out: a black head, atop a long black neck (like those grainy pictures of the Loch Ness Monster), then broke through the surface and that neck kept getting longer. Finally, a large body broke the surface and I found myself face to face with...
...to be continued.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
What is the monster in Cloverfield?
If you've seen the "Cloverfield" commercials then you know it's some kind of monster movie, but what kind? On the surface, it seems like another Godzilla movie, but when you really check it out the truth points elsewhere. (I know, I know, this is a fish blog. You'll see how this relates in a moment.)
In the commercial something big is obviously wreaking havoc, tossing the head of the statue of Liberty into the city street. However, there's also a brief clip of hazard suit garbed guys escorting a woman behind a bio-screen type curtain. This is what made me think that there is a main monster, but that it was created by some sort of parasitic infection. Then as I found stuff online about the movie, I've settled on this idea: the monster is some large sea creature somehow infected by [whatever], which comes ashore and somehow infects others. Something that big ain't gonna infect people by biting anymore than a Musky could infect a minnow by biting.
The big boy is an infected Blue Whale or Killer Whale which somehow mutates into being able to motivate across dry land, and pustules on it's skin allow the infectious parasites to escape. That's what I'm thinkin' anyway.
I found a cool 5 minute preview at a site discussing the movie, where I later saw a picture someone had drawn of what the creature will look like, and lo and behold, it has the head of a whale!
In the commercial something big is obviously wreaking havoc, tossing the head of the statue of Liberty into the city street. However, there's also a brief clip of hazard suit garbed guys escorting a woman behind a bio-screen type curtain. This is what made me think that there is a main monster, but that it was created by some sort of parasitic infection. Then as I found stuff online about the movie, I've settled on this idea: the monster is some large sea creature somehow infected by [whatever], which comes ashore and somehow infects others. Something that big ain't gonna infect people by biting anymore than a Musky could infect a minnow by biting.
The big boy is an infected Blue Whale or Killer Whale which somehow mutates into being able to motivate across dry land, and pustules on it's skin allow the infectious parasites to escape. That's what I'm thinkin' anyway.
I found a cool 5 minute preview at a site discussing the movie, where I later saw a picture someone had drawn of what the creature will look like, and lo and behold, it has the head of a whale!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas!
Hi fish folk, I just wanted to take a moment and wish you a very Merry Christmas in the name of The Savior Jesus Christ. I hope yours brings Him home to you!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Do you have video of your hunt?
Are you a photog who has good video of your outdoor experience? Check this out from PA Back Country:
These guys are a class operation all the way 'round. I had the opportunity to film a fishing segment with them and it was great fun while remaining completely professional the whole time. Check them out here, and let me know if you submit some video, I'd like to see it too!
Have you ever thought it would be great to showcase some of your outstanding video from past hunts or even just wildlife videography you have acquired over time? Pennsylvania Back Country would like to give you that opportunity to display your video to a national audience. We are currently looking for home video of hunts or wildlife involving deer, bear and turkey. The only restriction is that we ask it be taped in Pennsylvania. The video can be funny or serious, however we do request that it follow all hunting ethics. If your video is used on “Pennsylvania Back Country” we will mail you a special gift in appreciation.
These guys are a class operation all the way 'round. I had the opportunity to film a fishing segment with them and it was great fun while remaining completely professional the whole time. Check them out here, and let me know if you submit some video, I'd like to see it too!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Fishing on YouTube!
There's plenty of stuff to run from for various reasons on YouTube. If you look carefully though you can find some neat stuff. Even with the good clips you have to beware of the moronic/crude comments that show up to drag down every comment thread. The other day I was researching some fishing lures and came across this very interesting video. It's an unusual technique called noodling and you shouldn't hold your breath waiting for me to do it. I kinda like having all ten fingers.
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